Football

ISL 2024-25 – History, Format, Favourites and Where To Watch

By Moti Prakash

06 Apr 2025

Moti Prakash 06 Apr 2025

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ISL 2024-25 features 13 teams; Mohammedan SC debuts after I-League victory.
Leagues use a double round-robin format with playoffs
Key players: North East United's Alaeddine Ajaraie & Bengaluru FC's Sunil Chhetri.

The Indian Super League (ISL) trophy (Getty Images)

History
Format
Teams & Top Players
Favourites
Dark Horses
Where To Watch

The 2024-25 season of the Indian Super League (ISL) is the eleventh edition of India’s top-flight football club competition. It holds 13 teams and more teams are expected to join the league in the following seasons after securing promotion from the I-League, which is now the second division of club football in the country.

Mohammedan Sporting Club made their ISL debut this season after winning the I-League 2023-24. Their qualification to the top division reunited Kolkata’s Holy Trinity comprising them and their rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giants and East Bengal FC.

Apart from them, several teams compete for the title every season, making the league unpredictable and exciting for the viewers.

History

Six clubs have lifted the prestigious ISL title over the previous ten seasons. ATK, now defunct, have won the most titles (3), while Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC are right behind them with two titles each. Bengaluru FC, Mohun Bagan SG, and Hyderabad FC have all won it once.

After the first five seasons, the format of the league changed and the ISL Shield was introduced. Since its introduction, four clubs have won it. FC Goa became the first team to lift it in 2019-20. Mumbai City FC and Mohun Bagan SG have won it twice, while Jamshedpur FC won it in the 2021-22 season.

The former captain of the Indian National Football Team, Sunil Chhetri, is the all-time top goalscorer of the ISL. The 40-year-old, who is Bengaluru FC’s skipper, has netted 72 goals in 172 appearances and could add more to his tally before the current season ends.

Format

In the first five seasons, the ISL followed a double round-robin format, where the team with the most points at the end of the season would be crowned the champions.

However, in the 2019-20 season, the league adopted the Major League Soccer (MLS) format and made the league a double round-robin with play-offs at the end.

At the end of the regular league season, the team sitting at the top of the table wins the ISL Shield and advances to the semi-finals of the playoffs.

The club that finishes second also secures its qualification to the other semi-final. Meanwhile, the four teams below them have to face off against each other, with the winners setting up a match with the top two seeds.

In the quarterfinals of the playoffs, the third-seeded team hosts the sixth-seeded team in a single-leg elimination match. Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded team hosts the fifth-seeded club. The winner of the latter goes toe-to-toe with the top-seeded team, while the former locks horns with the second-seeded team.

The semi-finals are two-legged and the teams with the higher aggregate score over the two legs advance to the final which is held at a neutral venue. The winner of that final wins the ISL Cup.

Teams & Top Players

The 2024-25 season of the ISL features 13 teams – Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, East Bengal FC, FC Goa, Hyderabad FC, Jamshedpur FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Mohammedan SC, Mohun Bagan SG, Mumbai City FC, North East United FC, Odisha FC, and Punjab FC.

Last season, there were 12 teams in the ISL, with Punjab FC making their top-division debut after winning the I-League in the preceding season. This season, Mohammedan SC are doing the same. Next season, a 14th club will join the ISL, making it more interesting and competitive.

While Mohun Bagan SG are flying high, the player under the brightest spotlight this season is not from their roster. North East United’s Alaeddine Ajaraie is the favourite to win the Golden Boot after smashing numerous records in the league this season.

The 32-year-old has 25 goal contributions in 22 appearances this season so far, ten more than Odisha FC’s Diego Mauricio. Meanwhile, age is just a number for Chhetri, who has the second-highest goal tally this season and is third on the goal contributions table.

At the other end of the pitch, Mohun Bagan SG’s shot-stopper Vishal Kaith is set to clinch the Golden Glove after keeping 14 clean sheets in 22 matches. The 28-year-old also has the highest save percentage this season.

Favourites

After their recent victory against Odisha FC, Mohun Bagan SG secured the ISL Shield with two regular season league games to spare. This is the Mariner’s second successive league title. Last season, they failed to win the ISL Cup after losing to Mumbai City FC in the playoff final.

This season, the Mariners have been a force to reckon with and are top favourites to become only the second team after Mumbai City FC to win the ISL Shield and the Cup in the same season.

However, there are other strong contenders in their way, including FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC, who have confirmed their presence in the playoffs this season.

Bengaluru FC, North East United FC, and Mumbai City FC are currently occupying the other playoff qualification spots but are all one positive result away from securing their spots.

At the end of the day, Mohun Bagan SG and FC Goa will be the top favourites. The latter is yet to win the ISL Cup and under the coaching of Manolo Marquez, they might lift their first-ever title at the end of this season. The Spaniard has already won the title with Hyderabad FC in the 2021-22 and knows what it takes to take his team all the way.

Dark Horses

At the start of the season, Jamshedpur FC, North East United FC, and Odisha FC were being touted as the dark horses of the tournament. Under the coaching of Khalid Jamil, Jamshedpur FC have recovered well after finishing 11th last season. The 2021-22 Shield Winners have cemented their playoff spot and could have more surprises in the bag.

North East United have struggled over the past few seasons, but riding on the shoulders of their star striker, Ajaraie, they are very close to qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

The club has scored 39 goals so far and 20 of those goals have come via Ajaraie. It will be interesting to see if the Moroccan can continue inflicting damage in the knockouts and drag the Highlanders closer to the promised land.

Odisha FC are hanging outside the playoff qualification zone and may not make it to the knockout stages this season.

However, if they do, they are quite capable of pulling off some unexpected results. In their recent match against the league-winners, Mohun Bagan SG, the Juggernauts managed to keep their opponents at bay for almost the entire match before conceding the decisive goal in the 94th minute.

Odisha FC may not make the playoffs but Jamshedpur FC and North East United FC are fully equipped to cause upsets. The ISL is known for its mercurial nature and that is a fact that will inspire these two teams to bring their A-game to the pitch in the playoffs.

Where To Watch

In India, traditional television viewers can catch the ISL games live on Sports18 Khel and Star Sports 3. The OTT platforms JioCinema and Disney Hotstar recently merged and the new platform, JioHotstar, will stream all the ISL games live.

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